UPDATE
2-Colombian
industrial

output up 11.91 pct in May

Wed Jul 25,
2007 7:34PM
EDT

BOGOTA,
July 25
(Reuters)
-
Colombia's
industrial
production
rose
11.91
percent
in May
from a
year
earlier,
while
the
output
for the
January-through-May
period
increased
14.13
percent,
the
National
Statistics
Department
said on
Wednesday.

April
industrial
production
was up 13.25
percent from
the same
month last
year.

Retail sales
in Colombia
rose 10.24
percent in
May from 12
months ago
and grew
13.13
percent in
the first
five months
of the year
versus the
year-ago
period, the
government
said in a
separate
statement.

The economy
of the
Andean
country has
gained
strength
under
President
Alvaro Uribe,
who has
reduced
crime and
attracted
foreign
investment
with his
U.S.-backed
crackdown on
Marxist
rebels.